The Proposal
by Lizzy adorable Swann
Summary: This is for all those Will and Elizabeth lovers. They did have a life before Jack. Please read even if your not a WillLiz lover. I think you might like it.


**The Proposal**

**Disclaimer:** I had this inspiration for all those Will and Elizabeth lovers. Yes they still belong to Disney but this idea is mine.

_Port Royal, on the parapet just after Jack fell off_

Governor Swann looked at his beautiful daughter. "So this is the path you've chosen, is it? After all…he is a blacksmith."

Elizabeth felt an unexpected pang in her heart as the question unlocked memories that she'd long ago banished. She was surprised that after all this time, all these years, her feelings could still be so powerful, with such intense yearning.

Elizabeth gazed into Will's eyes for a long moment and then she removed his hat. "No. He's a pirate."

Will swept her up into his arms and kissed her. Her father shook his head and slowly walked away.

Elizabeth gave a slight glance at her father then looked back at Will. "I have always known you were a pirate."

Will gave her a slight laugh. "I always thought I was a blacksmith."

"Will," Elizabeth wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him. "Yes, I have always known. I know I was a young girl when I first met you, so many years ago, but you did have that medallion around your neck, and as wrong as it was, I did take it. I am truly sorry for that."

"Elizabeth that is in the past, we must look to the future."

"I know but things may have been different if you had known the truth back then. I thought I was doing you a favor. I was young and I had just lost my mother and my father was sailing to Port Royal to start a new life. My mother always reminded me that I had to follow my heart and that day I did. I felt I had to save you from my father and from Norrington."

Will grasped Elizabeth's hands and turned her toward the sea. "Maybe things would have been different." They both stood still as the breeze blew through their hair and they watched Jack being swept up onto the Black Pearl. "Yes, things would have been different and you would not have experienced Barbossa and his crew of miscreants."

As the sun glistened off the water Elizabeth smiled, remembering the first encounter she had with Will after he took up residence and apprenticeship with Mister Brown. How different he was now. She smiled at Will as he stood watching The Black Pearl sail away.

"If I had told you the truth I would have never met Jack, and I wouldn't be standing here with you today." She felt a large lump in her throat at the thought that she might not have had such an adventure. She knew the first time she set eyes on William he was a pirate but she kept that a secret from him and she tried to keep it in the back of her mind. She knew her father would never consent on letting her be with Will. In her father's view, Will would not be a fine match and he was a 'blacksmith'. If he had known Will was a pirate he would most likely have had him hung.

Elizabeth remembered Will's lazy smile as a youth, it would always make her heart race. His brown eyes reminded her of a puppy that had been kicked once too often and was afraid to trust. She remembered his defiant stance and challenging expression on his face that should have looked younger than it did. She remembered his curly brown hair, long and shaggy, always in need of a trimming.

Elizabeth came out of her trance and ran her fingers through Will's unruly locks. "Will do you remember the first time when you and I were alone together?"

Will looked down at Elizabeth and smiled. "How could I ever forget?"

She eased over to his warm body, and they both leaned against the brick wall. "I remember I was spying on you. My father had to go into town and I went with him. You did not notice me."

"Miss Swann, I have always noticed you."

Elizabeth threw her head back and laughed. "Will, how many times must I ask you to call me Elizabeth?"

"At least once more, Miss Swann, as always." Will put his arm around her and pulled her close.

"Will, I know this is very forward of me but that is just the way I am. I always have been and I always will be. I have always longed to know what you thought of me. I have always loved to watch you and be near you. I would occasionally sneak from my house and come down to Mister Brown's just to watch you work. I loved it when you would get so hot you would remove your shirt."

Will raised his hand and caressed her suntanned check. "Elizabeth please don't make me blush. Maybe there are some things you shouldn't tell me."

Elizabeth giggled, not only did his touch send sparks through her but his fragrance, his softness everything about him sent comfort to her. She loved it and she loved him.

"No Will please, I remember this as if it were yesterday. Approximately three years after James had saved you from the sea. Let's see, I was fifteen and you just turned sixteen. I looked at you and I said…"

_Five Years Earlier_

"I saw what you did." Elizabeth was sitting in her father's carriage looking down at Will.

"Oh," Will smiled up at her. He had just come from the general store and he looked up at a beautiful girl talking to him. He was taken by surprise, he was covered with dust and sweat and he was wearing an old battered hat. He pushed it back from his face and squinting up at the vision sitting before him. His first thought was, she sure is a pretty thing, with eyes the color of amber and hair the shade of the full moon that looks down on him while he sleeps. Then he realized who she was and that she was waiting for an answer.

"So?"

"So, you stole those crackers."

Will shoved the last of his bounty into his mouth, chewed and swallowed and wished he had some water with which to wash them down. "What crackers?"

Her jaw dropped and she began to blink those startling brown eyes of hers. "So you're a liar, too?"

"What do you care? It isn't your store."

"But it's wrong to steal and lie about it."

"Lord save me from the self-righteous. It's only stealing if you take something when you got the money to pay for it. Besides I was hungry."

She furrowed her brow. "You have no money?"

"I've got a bit, two bits as a matter of fact, but I'm saving it for an emergency."

"Being hungry is an emergency!"

"No, not really," he jumped back as Elizabeth climbed down from the carriage. He was considerably taller then her, so she had to tilt her head back to look into his eyes. He liked the way she kept watching him.

"I have been hungry lots of times." Will said softly. "Something always comes along."

"You mean you always steal something?"

"I mean the Lord provides."

"Are you a preacher now?"

"Hell, no!" Will waved his hands in the air.

Elizabeth gasped and her eyes grew wide. "William Turner, you're not supposed to cuss."

"Hell isn't really a cuss word, is it? I mean it's a place. Well damn," he said, taking pleasure in her horrified expression. "What's left to a man if he can't steal, lie or cuss?"

"You are no man," she said indignantly. "For if you were you would not be acting like this in front of a lady."

"Sorry, I didn't see any ladies around here." Will gave her a meek smile.

"I'm a lady!" Elizabeth took both hands and pushed him backwards.

"You're a… kid," Will looked at her running his eyes over her body.

"I'm not. I'm a young lady almost full grown."

"Let me see." William said innocently.

She blinked rapidly. "What do you mean by that?"

"I mean…I mean…" Will thought fast for he did not want to appear taken by surprise. "Err; let me unbutton your bodice. Let me see if you're almost fully grown."

She blinked again, shrugged, and thrust her chest toward him, a dare in her eyes that astounded him. "All right."

Sweet Lord in heaven! Why was she going to let him do it? He dropped his eyes to the ground and looked at his worn boots. His mouth grew so dry that it was tough to swallow. He wiped his suddenly damp hands on his trousers, and then reached for her bodice, embarrassed that his hands were shaking so badly that he could barely get his fingers to work. He was determined not to stop, because he desperately wanted to see what he'd been growing more and more anxious to see in the past few months. A woman's bosom. Well, a girl's bosom in this case, but a bosom was a bosom. Hell, if he'd known it was this easy to get a gal out of her clothes, he would have asked one long ago.

"Elizabeth Swann, what in the world is going on here?"

The harshly delivered question almost had Will's skin running out of there without him. Once he quickly recaptured his breath, he realized Elizabeth's father was behind him. The man must have come around the corner without him noticing as he was slowly one button closer to seeing paradise. Survival kicked in, but before he could duck and dart away, her father sent his hat flying into the dust, got a hold of his ear and pinched hard.

"Has he been bothering you Elizabeth?" Her father asked.

"No, sir. He only cusses." She stopped her explanation and lowered her gaze on her open bodice.

Will wanted to kiss her for keeping her mouth shut about the transgressions. Her lips were pressed tightly together; he stood a good chance of not going to jail. They don't arrest people for cussing, but if she'd revealed that he had stolen he might.

Elizabeth's father released Will and grabbed his daughter's arm tugging her hard into the carriage.

Will was grateful to have his ear back. He looked up at Elizabeth and was curious what was under that bodice but he would have to wait. Will thought he was safe until Elizabeth's father called to an officer.

"I want you to lock him up for the night."

The officer looked at the governor and then at Will. "What's his offense sir?"

"He was unbuttoning my daughter's bodice, trying to take advantage of her innocence."

The officer gave a brisk nod. "I shall handle the matter."

The Governor climbed up into his carriage. Elizabeth glanced out, giving Will a look that said she was as sorry at the way they were parting as he was.

Lucky for Will the officer let him go after the Governor rode off. He informed Will he would not arrest him for being curious but he informed him that he should wait before unfastening any other bodices. He should make certain the woman was old enough for such a sport and was willing to take money to satisfy his natural curiosity.

Will didn't have to be told twice. He ran around the corner, down the alley and around another corner. He was still hungry so he stole into a backdoor of a nearby saloon and came out with a small bottle and more crackers. As he came out the door into the ally he ran into Elizabeth again.

"I see you're still stealing."

Will looked around and did not see the carriage or the Governor. "Why are you here? Why are you following me?"

She just gave him a smile. "You took up drinking too?"

Will looked at the bottle and then at her big round eyes. "Oh, I found this half-empty bottle. I decided I would just finish it off."

"What's it taste like?" she asked, obviously curious.

Like piss is what he thought but he didn't tell her that because she might ask how he knew what piss tasted like. So he just looked at her, "I've tasted better."

"Does Mister Brown know you drink and steal?"

"You sure ask a lot of questions." He squinted at her. "Does your father know where you are?"

Elizabeth shrugged. "Now who is asking a lot of questions?"

"Do you still want to show me that you are grown up?"

She laughed. "I don't think so, my father sure was mad. Why do you ask? Do you still want to see?"

"Well today is my birthday and I wanted to buy myself a present."

Her eyes and smile got brighter. "What are you gonna buy?"

"An unbuttoned bodice I hope."

She furrowed her brow and narrowed her eyes. "I didn't think you had any money."

"Told you I had a bit."

"I thought you were saving that for an emergency?"

The way his heart was hammering he looked at her and said. "It is an emergency and you see your father got mad because I didn't know that I had to pay. The officer said it was alright for me to ask you, if I paid for it."

"Why are you so set on unbuttoning my bodice?"

"Because I have never seen a bosom before, and I heard Mister Brown and others talking about what a fine sight it is."

Will pulled some money out of his pocket. "You want my money or not?" He asked impatiently. "I want to have a good memory of my birthday, something I can think about if I live to a hundred."

"All you want to do is unbutton my bodice?"

He nodded, his mouth suddenly so dry that he didn't think he'd be able to talk if he had to.

"You can't touch anything," she said.

"I won't," he forced out through the knot forming in his throat as his anticipation built. "I'll just look."

"I guess there's no harm in just looking," Elizabeth gave him a seductive smile and looked down at her chest.

"None at all," Will said anxiously.

She held out her hand, he dropped the coins in it. He was wishing his hands were not so dirty. He wiped his hands on his trousers and cursed them for starting to tremble again. He hated to think how badly they might be shaking and he might touch more than buttons.

Not that he would touch more than she'd given him permission to. He might be a thief, a liar, a curser and most recently a drunk, but he was not a scoundrel. Well, maybe he was a little. The unbuttoning might be walking right up to the line, but he wasn't going to step over it. A man had to have principles.

Holding his gaze she lifted her chin and stuck out her chest. "Happy Birthday William Turner."

He swallowed hard, wishing she didn't have so many danged buttons. The first one seemed to take for ever to slip through the tiny little loop. It started to reveal the tiniest bit of her throat. He stopped breathing and moved his fingers to the next button.

"Come on hurry up" Elizabeth flinched as she watched Will. Her cheeks turning as red as a summer strawberry.

"Stop rushing me! I've never done this before."

"Well I haven't either." Elizabeth said with a slight bit of urgency in her voice as she looked down the empty ally.

"You've never unbuttoned a bodice?" Will asked.

She gave a nervous laugh. "Not in front of a man."

He pressed his fingers against his palms to stop their shaking and took a deep breath to try to stop his body from trembling. The tremors cascading through him were distracting and he was afraid that she could see how nervous he was.

With the third button, she'd expected his gaze to dip, but it didn't. It remained steadfastly fixed on her face. With the fourth, fifth and sixth button his hands were still shaking.

A light sheen of dew appeared on his forehead, and she wasn't certain that he was breathing. When he loosened the final button, he eased his fingers between the parted material and brought it back to reveal the white cotton of her chemise and while she was still modestly covered, she felt as though she were completely naked.

He lowered his gaze and looked at the full outline of her ample bosoms, and then he grabbed the end of the bow that kept her chemise closed. "Such a flimsy piece of satin for such an important job."

He slid his gaze up to hers, taking in the creamy texture of her skin and, the slight flush that crossed her cheeks. He kept his eyes on hers, his breathing ragged, waiting for her to react.

He swallowed hard, his mouth suddenly dry, his breaths coming in harsh gasps. He tugged on the ribbon, watching as the bow ceased to exist. Fighting to hold his fingers steady, he pulled the ribbon free, watching as the material parted to reveal her flesh. With the side of his hand and the gentlest touch, he moved the material farther aside to reveal her breasts in full. "My God, you are… beautiful."

"I'm not really very fully grown." She whispered. "Not like those women you see in the saloons."

With effort, he shifted his gaze up to hers. Her cheeks were a bright reddish hue. "I'm small."

He touched his finger to her lips. "You're perfect." He lowered his mouth to kiss her and he moved his hands down to examine her perfection.

"Elizabeth Swann!"

Before Will could make a move to escape he was once again caught by the Governor and this time he was thrown into jail. He spent his birthday in jail but he was happy he had a hot meal a cot and a vision to last him for a hundred years.

From that day on Elizabeth knew Will had what it took to be a pirate. Pirate was definitely in his blood. Will had no idea what had gotten into him. He turned over a new leaf and behaved like a perfect gentleman. He never stole anything else and always treated Elizabeth with the utmost respect.

_Back To The Present on The Parapet_

Elizabeth swept her hand up into Will's hair, she felt the heat of passion going through her, swirling, stirring to life desire, want and yearning. She thought she might melt through the wall. She kissed him with purpose and determination.

Will kissed her back in return. He blazed a trail with his tongue along her throat beneath her chin and just below her ear. She could hear his harsh breathing. "You know I can hardly look at you without wanting you." Will spoke breathlessly.

She opened her eyes to see the clouds dancing over head. "William, we could be discovered here. We should go somewhere else."

"Tell me to stop and I'll stop." Cupping her chin in his palm he looked deep into her eyes.

"Miss Swann." To her surprise Will knelt in front of her, and took her hand. "I love you darling. I always have and I always will. I can only give you a little house and not much money, but I can give you a whole lot of my heart. I'd ask you to marry me if I thought that is what you wanted."

"It's what I want."

"Are you sure?"

"I am sure." She cradled his face. "I love you, William Turner. I've loved you forever."

She was suddenly in his arms, being held tightly, being kissed deeply. And she knew that he was the only part of Port Royal that she'd ever need.

**A/N** OK that's it. I hope you liked it. This is a one shot. If you all liked it I guess I could write another. I have many Will and Elizabeth ideas.


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